Sorry
by True China Sorrows
Summary: They have never known it to be more true: "It is better to understand than it is to love."


Sorry

"What do you want?" the Oracle glowers sternly.

The door is scarcely open. The Oracle is barely able to stand in her own doorway. However, Hiro is no fool. He knows that she means to rob him of seeing the interior of her vast home.

He stares at her. "Please, I have to know. Surely you, with your vast knowledge, can detect her presence!"

She does not deign to reply. She merely continues to stare at him disapprovingly. It is an expression that a lesser man would flee from.

Hiro ignores the danger that he knows he's in. He tries to peer over her shoulder. However, the limited view allows only the tops of book covered shelves. Before he can protest further the door drifts back to the doorframe.

He throws his hands out to stop it. "Please! Oracle, please! You know something! You must know something! Tell me, please, I beg of you. Please tell me where she is. I have… I have to apologise. I have to find her,"

She speaks faintly, her body transparent and encroached upon by the door. "There is nothing for you here,"

He scrunches his brow and ducks his head. "No, that's not true,"

His words sound weak even to him. Then, as she repeats herself, he feels the weakness growing. His arms quake violently. His legs begin to buckle. It becomes an effort to even remain standing. As she utters those condemning words a third time he only barely manages to keep himself from falling.

"Please!" he shrieks. "Please tell me! Please give me an answer! I must know! I have to apologise!"

She scowls, noticing flickers in the distance. "No. Be gone,"

He crashes to the ground. His back crunches and violently spasms shoot up his spine. He howls and writhes as best as he can. The stars above stare on sympathetically. To him they are nothing more than hazy, barely there glimmers of another life.

The tears pour from his eyes. He wails loudly and it echoes through the forests and over the mountain. He retreats deep within himself. So deeply, in fact, that the soft scattering of soil and pebbles is nothing to him. He doesn't even see the gathering shadows.

* * *

The Oracle takes a deep, self-composing breath.

Gracefully, she glides across her floor. The great, arching ceiling of her home whispers a faint echo of her footfalls. The Oracle brushes the crimson curtain aside. She steps into one of her back rooms. She is greeted immediately by the sight of the sisters.

The youngest murmurs fretfully. "Is this all right?"

It takes a moment of effort to maintain her calm, unaffected expression. She allows only disapproval to enter her steely gaze.

She makes her way over. "You should not exert yourself,"

A slow, weak voice murmurs semi-deliriously. "I am fine…"

However, Nori is not fine. Her skin is wintry white. Her eyes are becoming colourless. The light of life is slowly fading from them. A layer of sweat covers her limp body. Small spasms rock her from time to time. She gasps, unable to breathe correctly.

The Oracle berates her with a lightly critical tone. "You are not,"

Nori parts her lips in a silent, delirious laugh.

Then, smiling, she whispers. "Is Hiro here? Has he come for me…?"

Her dark, shallow eyes scour the room. She strains forward weakly. A fragile hope flourishes in her eyes. It fades in moments. Her sister's restraining hands do little to pacify her.

Ying looks to the Oracle sadly. "Please, make my sister well,"

The Oracle replies simply. "I am not the decider of fate,"

She whimpers and curls around her sister. She buries her wet face in Nori's shoulder. A comforting hand is tentatively placed on her trembling shoulders. A wave of unease falls over the Oracle at the sight.

"Nori," she enquires in a demanding tone. "Do you know how troublesome you are?"

"You…!" Ying exclaims, horrified.

A soft laugh whispers through the air. Nori manages a small nod, though the blankness behind her eyes demeans the gesture. Her head gently droops in the Oracle's direction.

Her voice is barely audible. "He was here…"

Ying clutches her more closely. A fierce possessiveness flares in her eyes. She slowly inches the two of them away from the Oracle.

The Oracle whips the long skirt of her dress out of her way. "You know your fate,"

She spins around, falling to a slight crouch. A calm and callous grin spreads across her face. She narrows her eyes to a glare.

The walls of her home tremble. The adhesive of her home cascades down in glimmering rivulets. She glimpses approaching shadows in the main room.

A familiar, self-righteous voice calls. "Do you surrender soul stealer?"

**Author's Note:** This is an introduction to a fanfiction that I'm currently working on. Well, it isn't an introduction. It's more of an event in the distant realms of chapters that are yet to be written. That being said, I love what I've written. I love the folk tale and that one movie adaptation. I really want to share this with you all!

Thank you for reading my piece. I do hope that you have enjoyed it. I apologise if I have failed to give you any satisfaction and enjoyment.


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